Call Me
by pinktink008
Summary: The third in a series. See my author page for the order of the stories in this series. Sam/OFC. It's an unconventional format, a series of phone calls and voice mail messages exchanged between Sam and Emerson Weir. WIP
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer**: I don't own _Supernatural,_ Sam and Dean Winchester or anything related to the show. I'm not getting paid for this (although if Eric Kripke would like to hire me, I'm available!) so please don't sue me. I own Emerson Weir. She's enjoying her time with the boys so there will be more stories to come. This one follows "A Mother's Love", which is the second in the series. That makes this the third in the series, of course. Reviews are always welcomed. I'd love to know what people think of what I've been writing. For reference, this story takes place over a period of several weeks and starts up a couple of days after "A Mother's Love". Forgive the unusual format. I thought I'd try something new. I hope you enjoy it anyway!

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_Hey, this is Emerson. Sorry I can't make it to the phone right now. Just leave me your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can._

Sam's eyes closed as he softly sighed, listening to the message play. It was the third time in two days that he'd gotten her voice mail and he was seriously starting to wonder what was wrong. He'd tried calling her the very next day after their last conversation but she hadn't answered. That was fine but he tried again later that evening and didn't get a response either, which was when Sam started to worry. There wasn't even a message on his voice mail from her, which had Sam even more worried.

Now he was sitting in a motel room in Crystal Lake, Illinois, waiting for Dean to come back with something for them to eat and listening to Emerson's outgoing message play … again. And all Sam could do was continue to worry about what was going on in Mount Redding and about the fact that he couldn't be there to actually lend Emerson a hand, just in case she needed help.

He heard the beep and took a soft, deep breath before saying a single word. "Hey, Emerson. It's me again," Sam said, sounding tired and worried. "I'm just wondering what's going on. Dean and I are working a case in Crystal Lake. I'm hoping to come by to see you after this though. It's nothing big so it shouldn't take long. Just …" There was a pause and Sam sighed softly. "Please call me back, okay?"

He hung up and looked at his phone for a moment and then closed his eyes and fell back on the bed. Sam stared at the ceiling, his cell phone still in his right hand. He had no idea what Emerson might be going through right now because he couldn't get a hold of her. He was worried and wanted to get this case wrapped as soon as possible so that he and Dean could head out to pay Emerson a visit. Maybe he'd have a better chance at finding out what as going on if he could make it to Mount Redding to see her, talk face to face.

He didn't move to get up when he heard Dean open the door. He heard a plastic bag rustling and could smell the burgers and fries but even that didn't get him to move. He was hungry but not that hungry it seemed. Sam finally sat up when the door slammed shut behind his brother. He looked at Dean expectantly, knowing that there would be a question or some kind of comment. He figured his brother knew that he'd been calling Emerson quite a bit, trying to find out what was going on. Sam figured Dean had even tried calling her once or twice at this point out of his own concern for Emerson.

"Still no answer?"

Sam sighed a little and shook his head. He heard the worry in Dean's voice too, even if his big brother wouldn't admit to being worried right now. "No, still no answer."


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** Hey! So the same disclaimers apply but I'd just like to say thank you (and I mean a HUGE thank you!) to those of you who have been sticking it out and reading my _Supernatural _stories! I adore the hell out of you all and thank you from the bottom of my heart for your support! Now, on with the very weird format of this story!

* * *

_Hey, this is Emerson. Sorry I can't make it to the phone right now. Just leave me your name and number and I'll get back to you as soon as I can._

Sam heavily sighed as he heard her voice mail for fifth time in the last couple of days. It was getting to the point where he felt like he wanted to bang his head against the nearest wall whenever he heard the message. Not that he didn't want to hear her voice because that was the only bright spot of it all. It was more because he really wanted to hear it, which meant that he didn't want to hear it via her outgoing voice mail message. Sam was worried and frustrated and wanted to know what the hell was going on. He had been trying not to call nearly as much but he couldn't seem to help it. He needed to know that she was okay.

He hung up without leaving a message this time and stared at his phone for a moment. He was debating whether or not to call her again but it didn't take long for Sam to make that decision. He quickly redialed, listening to it go straight to voice mail. One ring and the message started to play again. That meant that she had her phone off and he felt like he needed to know why that was but he knew he wasn't going to get an answer just listening to the outgoing message on her voice mail.

Sam felt like he wanted to throw his phone against the wall after he quickly hung up the phone again without leaving a message this time as well. All these emotions were just making his head hurt right now. He was frustrated and angry and worried sick. His leg was bouncing nervously as he sat there on the edge of his bed, unable to fall asleep. Dean was asleep on the bed next to him but Sam couldn't stand the quiet right now. It made him feel restless.

They were wrapping up the case in Crystal Lake but Bobby had called to let them know that it looked like all signs were pointing to something big going down in Chicago. Dean had insisted that they check it out since they were in the area despite the fact that Sam wanted to go to Mount Redding to check on Emerson instead. It was a case though and Sam knew that they had to check it out. Anything else would be selfish on his part. Plus there was no arguing with his big brother and Sam knew Dean was right. If something big was going to happen somewhere, they had to be there to check it out, especially if they were the only hunters in the immediate area. It was just the way that it had to be. It didn't mean that Sam was excited about the idea, just that he knew it had to be done and they were the ones who were going to have to do it.

Sam quietly slipped on his shoes and pushed off of the bed. His cell phone was lying on his bed while he grabbed his jacket to quickly pull it on. He needed to go for a walk to clear his head. Some times it seemed like the only thing that worked and right now he needed a bit of clarity. He had his back to the bed and the phone was on vibrate so Sam didn't notice when it started to ring. He was busy making sure that he had his money and the room key, just in case. After patting his pockets and double-checking to make sure he had everything, he turned to face the bed again. By the time he grabbed his phone he had one missed call. He didn't check his phone, however. Sam just stuffed it in his pocket and headed out the door to take a walk.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note**: Two updates in one day. Mostly because it's been AGES since I've updated at all! I promise to do better with this. Hopefully. LOL Thank you again for reading. I appreciate it more than I can say!

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Emerson sighed as she heard Sam's phone go to voice mail after several rings. She'd gotten every one of his messages but she hadn't had the time or the energy to answer the phone at the time. Now that she had a minute, she had wanted to check on him, see how Sam was doing and let him know that she was okay. Mostly Emerson just wanted to hear his voice. The closest that she got was his voice mail message so it kind of 'had to do'. She seemed to smile a little and sighed just before the beep.

"Hey, Sam. It's just me. I'm, uh, I'm calling you back, hoping everything's okay. I'd love to hear how the case went," she said, feeling like she was fumbling for words. Emerson just didn't seem to know what to say right now, which was probably why she hadn't called him sooner. It was probably why she hadn't bothered to call Sam at all before this actually. "Uh, just wanted to let you know that I'm okay actually." She took a deep breath and sighed. "Things are ... Well, they are what they are but I'll be all right. Take care of yourself, okay? I hope to hear from you soon, Sam. Bye."

Emerson nodded to the Fed Ex delivery guy, gesturing for him to go to the back room as she hung up her phone and slipped it into the back pocket of her jeans. The store was empty now. Even the shelves had been sold and were gone and the delivery guy was there to pick up the last of her inventory, which was being shipped to some New Age store in Pennsylvania. She wasn't sure where it was and didn't much care at this point. The store had become a distraction and Emerson couldn't afford any distractions right now. It was also the reason she kept her phone turned off so often the last few days. A call from Sam would be too much of a distraction.

"Emmy, are you sure you packed away everything?"

Emerson shot a dirty look over her shoulder and sighed. "Yes, mother. And don't call me Emmy," she said, almost growling. She spoke through gritted teeth and made a bit of a face at Grace. She didn't want her mother around but right now Grace was the only backup she could trust and Emerson knew that she needed backup. Perhaps she could have called to ask for Sam and Dean's help on this but she didn't want to endanger Sam so she was taking the 'lesser of two evils' approach and she was working with her mother now, not that it seemed to be a good idea at the moment.

"Can you stop being a spoiled brat for five minutes?"

Emerson spun around on her heels and faced her mother now, arms crossed across her chest. It was a constant contest of wills between the two of them, always butting heads over the littlest things. They didn't get along well even under the best of circumstances but Emerson was doing her best to be as personable as possible. The bad news was that her mother didn't seem to care. Some things never changed she supposed. "What?"

"You kept what we'd need, right?" Grace asked, looking around the now empty store and trying not to sigh. She'd worked so hard to create this business so seeing her daughter selling the place and the entire inventory felt like a personal blow. But still she bit her tongue and didn't say those words out loud. She, too, was doing her level best not to cause too many waves. She and Emerson were too much alike and yet too different to really get along so she was doing her best to keep the discussions to the job at hand instead of fighting about every little thing.

Emerson sighed and rolled her eyes, her stance relaxing to some degree now. Somehow her mother could make her revert to behaving like a moody teenager every time. Being around her mother made Emerson want to sulk around and act a little 'whiny' but she was trying to keep those responses in check. Still those responses occasionally got through and moments like the last one happened between the two of them even if Emerson didn't want them to happen. "Yes. Don't worry about it, all right?" she said, sighing and walking towards the front door.

"Where are you going, Emerson?"

Emerson rolled her eyes at the tone of her mother's voice and pushed open the door without bothering to look back, even when she spoke. "For a walk," she said, through gritted teeth. "I'll be back."


	4. Chapter 4

Emerson was softly chewing on her lower lip as she listened to the phone ring, trying not to think the worst right away. She wasn't sure if Sam was going to answer his phone and she knew there was still time for his voice mail to pick up instead of him. She looked across the kitchen table at her mother and tried to keep from sighing out loud. Grace was going over some notes while Emerson tapped her fingers in a random rhythm on the table while the phone on the other end of the line rang.

Emerson took the ringing of the phone as a good sign though. At least Sam's phone wasn't turned off right now and at least he hadn't hung up on her yet, although she knew that he could hang up once he actually answered the phone. Emerson had to hope that he would answer his phone at all. Of course, she started to go through every possible reason why Sam hadn't picked up yet and only a handful of those reasons were good ones.

Finally she heard the 'hello' on the end other of the line that let her know that Sam was actually answering his phone right now. Emerson's heart actually felt like it stopped for a moment at the sound of his voice. Emerson let out a breath, softly sighing and smiled at the sound of his voice. "Sam … hi," she said, not sure what else to say right now.

Sam softly chuckled and she figured he might even have a soft smile on his face at the moment as well. It was a nice mental image to have right now. With everything that was going on in her head, Emerson liked the thought of Sam smiling right now.

"Where have you been? You haven't been answering your phone," he said, sounding like he was joking with her.

"Yeah, about that …" Emerson sighed softly and closed her eyes. She rubbed one of her temples softly and then got out of her chair to wander out of the kitchen. She felt her mother's eyes on her and didn't want to deal with that right now. Emerson had to 'get away' so she was moving to some place where she could talk to Sam without feeling Grace staring at her through the entire conversation. "I've been busy."

"That's to say the least," Sam said with a chuckle. "I take it that you're okay."

Emerson nodded, leaning against the wall and kind of sliding down it. She sat there on the floor, staring at the wall across from her now. "I'm okay, Sam. Things are a little crazy here right now but I'm okay," she said with a soft sigh. Emerson softly rested her forehead against her knees and took a deep breath. She needed a moment to wrap her head around everything, sighing, before lifting her head again and resting it against the wall, her eyes softly closed at the moment. "My, uh, my mother's here actually. To help. With things."

"With things?"

She cracked a smile then and shook her head at herself, softly laughing. Emerson opened her eyes now and just kind of stared at her feet as she talked to Sam. "You know what I mean, Sam," she said with another shake of her head. "What about you? What have you been up to?"

"Dean and I have been working a couple of cases. Seems like as soon as I'm ready to suggest heading out by you, we find another case that needs our immediate attention. Not that I like that but I guess it's okay." There was a soft chuckle at that although it was perhaps a humorless chuckle.

_Thank goodness for small favors_, she thought with a soft sigh. Emerson licked her lips softly before saying anything though. "At least you're keeping busy," she said with a shrug, immediately aware of how lame that sounded. "I'll let you know if anything big happens here."

"Okay," Sam said. There was a soft sigh on his end of the line. He seemed to hesitate before speaking again actually. "Look, I've got to go. Dean needs help with something. Just … promise to call me, Emmy."

She smiled softly, almost laughing when she heard Sam call her 'Emmy'. It was cute but not something that he'd really done before. It caused some serious butterflies in her stomach to hear it now. "I promise, Sam. Take care of yourself and let Dean know that I'm okay. I'll just … I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye."

Emerson sighed softly, her eyes closed. She almost made a 'kiss' sound before saying anything but knew that would be awkward. "Yeah, bye, Sam." She waited a moment before hanging up, and then stared at her phone before pushing up off of the floor. She tucked her cell phone into the back pocket of her jeans and headed into the kitchen where her mother was waiting. Emerson placed her hands on the nearest chair and leaned in to see what Grace was working on. Taking care of this was definitely more important than dwelling on how short the conversation with Sam had been. This was something that needed to be taken care of before she could even think about anything 'more' with Sam than these phone calls anyway.

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**A/N: **Thank you SO much for reading this story. I know it's a little unconventional and a little scattered at times but that's kind of the point. I hope you're enjoying it and that you'll stick around to read more stories featuring Emerson!


	5. Chapter 5

Emerson glanced out the window, looking to see if her mother was coming yet. Grace had said that she needed to stop and talk with someone. She hadn't said what it might be about or who she needed to talk to and had asked Emerson to sit in the car and wait. Of course that didn't go over well and while Emerson had started out sulking about it, she was starting to feel pretty useless sitting in the car when they should be out doing something.

They thought they knew where this 'something' in town was hiding out and had started to make plans to check it out. Emerson wondered if maybe Grace knew more about what was going on than she was letting on actually. It just seemed like her mother wasn't telling her everything. Everything from her mother came in clipped tones and it was all brief and rather secretive. Emerson felt on edge just thinking about it and the only thing that seemed to calm her down was the thought of hearing Sam's voice.

She glanced around at the people walking by and then started to feel around for her cell phone. She'd caught a few looks from some of her neighbors but brushed them off. More and more the townspeople seemed to look at Emerson like she was the cause of all their troubles and if she went away, the trouble would go with her. There were times it made her want to just walk away and never look back but she knew that if she did that, she'd spend the rest of her life wondering how she could have helped or if she could have helped at all. The last thing she wanted was that on her conscience so Emerson was going to continue to do what she could to help. She was just going to go about it her way and not in any way that anyone in town might truly understand.

She eyed her phone, scrolling through her contact list for a bit although she knew who she wanted to call. Emerson sighed and had her finger poised to speed dial Sam although she hesitated for a bit. She needed to talk to him, needed to sort things out. Somehow when she talked to him, Emerson felt like she really could sort things out. Just telling him what she was going through and what she was thinking about seemed to help and right now Emerson felt like she could use a little help.

She jumped when she heard someone hit the passenger side window. Startled by the sound, Emerson gave her mother a dirty look as Grace made her way around the front of the car to the driver's side. Emerson stared at her phone for a moment, even as her mother got into the car. She could easily call Sam even if Grace was in the car and seemed to think it was a good idea right now.

Grace reached for Emerson's phone, ready to turn it off for her daughter. "No calls. We have a job to do," she said after Emerson had pulled the phone back so Grace couldn't reach it. It was that same clipped tone, that same lack of information.

Emerson rolled her eyes and turned off her phone. She figured that she could always call Sam later. There was a lot to talk about and sort through and if she could talk to Sam, Emerson felt like it would be a good thing. With a sigh, she stuffed her cell phone into her jacket pocket with a sigh. "What was that all about?"

Grace started the car, looking straight ahead as she did so. There was no smile, not even some kind of a smirk. "There's no time to talk," she said with a little shake of her head. She meant for this to be final, for that to be the end of the conversation between them on the subject.

"I'm not a child, mother. You can let me in on this, you know," Emerson said, her voice trembling a little bit. She had her teeth gritted as she spoke and she was trying to remain calm but her voice still trembled with the frustration that she felt right now. "We're supposed to be working together on this, remember?"

Grace almost rolled her eyes and shook her head. She didn't say anything though, just kept staring straight ahead. She drove in silence towards the old church in town. She seemed to be actively ignoring her daughter at the moment, as if that was somehow 'helpful'.

"So this thing? It's supposed to be under the church, right?" Emerson said, continuing to talk whether her mother liked it or not. If her mother wouldn't say anything, Emerson would talk it out on her own. "Why would it be there? And once we find it, how are we going to get rid of it?"

Grace sighed loudly and glanced over at Emerson for a moment when they'd reached a stop sign. As she exhaled, her shoulders seemed to slump and she nodded. "All signs point to it being underground and from some old maps, there's a room under the old church. There's a good chance that's where it is. From what I've been able to find out, that's where it would be hiding. I'm not sure how we'll stop it but we'll figure it out when we get there."

Emerson folded her arms across her chest and frowned. She closed her eyes for a moment and sighed. "You really want to burst in there without a plan?"

"We'll figure it out," Grace said with a little nod. There was another glance over to her daughter. "I promise. Just … trust me for a change."

Emerson nodded, not looking at her mother. As much as she hated the idea, she didn't have much choice. If they wanted to get through this, they were going to have to trust each other. She just wasn't sure how much her mother trusted her at this point.

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**A/N:** To those of you actually reading, I say thank you. I know it's not like the first two stories. Possibly isn't even as 'fun' as they were but I hope it's worth the read anyway. I'm hoping that the next story will be better and can tie in this story as well as the others in a way that makes this all feel satisfying to the reader. I hope someone is enjoying this or else I'm not sure why I'm still writing this.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thank you for bearing with me with this somewhat unusual story. The plot is rather fragmented, I know, but I hope there's some 'pay off' in the end. Especially when the next story is done and I start posting that. In the meantime, thank you for reading. I know there are some people reading and that makes me feel good. Reviews always tickle me even more but I'll take knowing that someone's checking this out over nothing at all so thank you! Enjoy!

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Emerson and her mother had rushed out of the house so fast earlier that she'd barely had time to grab anything. Just her jacket, her cell phone and her keys and they were out the door trying to chase after something it seemed. The lead that her mother had didn't pan out like they would have liked but they'd found a few more things that Grace wanted to check out while they were out. It wound up just one big wild goose chase for the most part and it had worn Emerson out more than she could say. She was tired of chasing after one thing after another and coming up empty handed.

It wasn't long before Grace suggested that her daughter take a break, that it wasn't something that she couldn't handle on her own. After first she was going to argue since she wanted to be there if her mother finally ran across something worth looking into but when Grace promised to call Emerson if that happened, Emerson decided that some rest would be a good thing. She left her mother at the motel and headed home for a shower and some food. More than anything else, she knew that she needed to get away from her mother for a little while.

When she got home, she tossed her jacket onto a chair in the living room and headed straight for the kitchen. Emerson practically slammed her keys down on the counter when she got there. There had been yet another argument between her and her mother over how to handle this on the drive over to the motel. Emerson wanted to gather more evidence before doing anything and Grace wanted to act. It seemed too dangerous to Emerson to jump right in like that but her mother insisted that it was the only way to do it and the two spent the entire ride from the church in the town square to the Tuckaway Inn arguing about how to go about the rest of their 'investigation'.

Emerson went to her refrigerator and pulled out a foam takeout container. Besides feeling a little frustrated, she was hungry and it would be quick and easy. After considering it for a moment, she pulled out a bottle of beer as well. She put the container into the microwave and opened the beer, taking a long drink from the bottle. Emerson reached into her pocket for her cell phone. There was one missed call. Emerson checked to see who had called since her phone had been on silent after they'd made it to the church to look around. After seeing it had been Becky and seeing that there was a waiting voice mail message as well, she still decided to call Sam. Right now she needed to talk to someone and he was the first person that she thought to call.

The microwave beeped as she listened to Sam's phone ring, hoping that he'd pick up this time. She didn't bother to pull out her food right now. It was late in the afternoon but she thought that she might catch Sam if she was lucky. It seemed like they played a lot of 'phone tag' lately and this time she was hoping that Sam might actually be there to pick up the phone. She started to slowly pace as it rang and rang. The longer it seemed to take, the more her anxiety level seemed to increase. Emerson took another drink of her beer as Sam's voice mail picked up her call.

"Hey, Sam. Sorry I missed you," she said. Her voice was steady at the moment. "Things here are just … We actually seem to have a lead but my mom and I …" Emerson heavily sighed as she sat down on the floor, her back up against the cabinets. "This is just so hard, trying to work with her. I wish you and Dean were here. Actually I wish just you were here." She softly chuckled at that thought and shook it off. "I'm … Oh God, Sam, if this is what it sounds like it is, then I'm scared. I'm scared that my mother's going to do something stupid and reckless and … Just …" There was another heavy sigh as she closed her eyes for a moment, trying to stay calm. "Please call me when you get this. I need to hear your voice."

Emerson was visibly shaking when she finally hung up the phone. Her voice had even been shaking before she hung up. She pushed herself up off of the floor and opened a cabinet near the refrigerator. Emerson pulled out a bottle of whisky and opened another cabinet, pulling out a glass. She poured enough for a big gulp and downed it as quickly as possible. After drinking it, she poured herself some more. Grabbing the container out of the microwave, Emerson moved everything to the kitchen table. She suddenly wasn't very hungry but she knew she needed to eat something. She sat down with a sigh, ready to get a little something in her stomach before she had any more to drink.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** I know it's not much but most of these chapters are short. That was kind of done on purpose just because the format of the story is a little different than most. With this being a series of phone calls and voice mail messages, well, the chapters just don't wind up long at all. Thanks for hanging in there and reading this though. I appreciate it!

* * *

Sam had felt his phone vibrate in his pocket while he and Dean questioned the wife of a man that had gone missing 48 hours ago. They had checked out another lead earlier and after grabbing something to eat, they headed to talk to this woman about her husband. They were in town investigating a string of demonic attacks and it seemed the demon must have caught wind of Sam and Dean being in town. By the time Sam and Dean arrived to exorcise it, the demon was ready to 'jump ship'. They tracked it here and figured it took the first warm body it could find at the time, which happened to belong to this poor woman's husband.

Sam had wanted to pick up the phone while it was ringing but leaving Dean with a near hysterical woman didn't seem like the best idea. She had started sobbing when they asked about her husband and it seemed like every other sentence led her to break down more. Not the kind of thing that Sam thought Dean could handle on his own. He hated leaving the phone ring though since it might be Emerson or some important bit of information from Bobby but he couldn't risk leaving Dean alone. So he sat through the interview with Dean, trying to pick out any useful bits of information that seemed to sneak into the conversation between sobs and figured on checking his messages once they left.

After saying good-bye and promising to do everything they could to find her husband, the boys left. Dean looked a little drained from the conversation since the woman had been tough to talk to but Sam seemed to walk twice as fast as usual to get to the car so they could get moving again. Once in the Impala, he pulled out his cell phone. One missed call, one voice mail message.

Sam glanced over at Dean as his brother got into the car. He called his voice mail, already somehow knowing that the message would be from Emerson. He didn't know how he knew it but he did. He'd never checked to see who called but still felt like he knew who it was without even checking.

"Is it from her?" Dean asked.

Sam answered the prompts from his voice mail to retrieve his messages, nodding. "Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was her," he said.

Dean started up the car, turning down the radio right away and glancing at his brother for a moment. It wasn't often that he was nice about turning down his music for Sam but he was concerned about Emerson as well. Having the music blasting would mean that it would be hard for Sam to hear any voice mail messages so he turned it down. If she had called, Dean wanted to know what it was about. He was trying to read Sam's face for a moment before his attention returned to driving, heading for their motel room so they could regroup.

Sam listened to the message and sighed heavily before hanging up, looking over at Dean. "It was her," he said, his voice soft. It seemed to almost break a bit as he said those three words, like it was that hard to say that Emerson had called him.

Dean glanced over at his brother as they stopped at a red light. That tone to Sam's voice seemed to immediately set off warning bells in his head. "Yeah? And?" he asked, sounding anxious and worried all at once. "What did she want? What did she say?"

"She sounded scared. I guess she and her mom are close to figuring this out," Sam said with a shrug, as if he was trying to act like none of this mattered. His voice was on the softer side but it didn't seem to crack as he spoke now. He cleared his throat though to be safe and shook his head a little as he stared out the windshield as Dean started to drive once the light turned green. Sam didn't want to give his brother too much to worry about right now. "She sounded really scared, Dean. I'm worried about her."

Dean stoically stared straight ahead, watching where he was driving instead of glancing at his brother to see how Sam might be doing right now. He was afraid that if he looked over and saw his brother looking at all sad or scared or worried that he might break too and right now Dean felt like he had to be strong for Sam so Sam could let himself worry about Emerson like this. "Yeah, Sammy, me too."


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** It's been far too long since I've last updated. I figure it was time I got with that. Of course, I'm still struggling with writing so hopefully I'll get myself in gear with that and there will be more to read! Hope you're enjoying my stories so far and that you'll keep reading. I appreciate it! Enjoy the update!

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Sam had tried several times over the next couple of days to get a hold of Emerson after her last voice mail message. He was nervous and worried but he seemed to try to keep from worrying Dean too much if he could help it. Whenever Sam could sneak out of the motel room to call her, he did. Dean didn't seem to mind or notice, at least not until he had started to show signs of frustration. Not one to typically talk about his feelings, Dean had to work up to talking to his brother about this but after three days and seeing Sam moping around for at least a day and a half of that, he finally decided it was time to have a talk with his little brother.

Dean was sitting on his bed, taking apart and cleaning his favorite gun. It calmed him, kept him focused so it seemed like the thing to be doing right now. He nervously cleared his throat and when that didn't get Sam's attention, he did it again and a little louder the second time. "So Sam …" he finally said, glancing up to check to see if Sam was going to look up from his laptop right now.

"Hmm …" was the only response Dean got. Sam didn't even look up from what he was doing at the sound of his brother's voice.

"So, Sam, have you gotten a hold of Emerson yet?"

Sam looked up when Dean said that to see his older brother focused on cleaning his gun as he spoke. Somehow that sight frustrated Sam right now. "You know I haven't." There was almost an angry look on his face as he looked at Dean, this look that said 'why are you even bothering to ask me that?'.

Dean glanced at Sam again with a 'oh, yeah' kind of look on his face and he shrugged. It would have been hard to miss something like that and he knew that Sam would have mentioned talking to Emerson but he still felt like he had to ask. It seemed like the only way to have this conversation with his brother right now. "You think she's okay?" Dean asked, his attention shifting back to putting his gun back together again.

Sam sighed, closing his eyes for a moment and shaking his head. He closed his laptop, no longer interested in poking around for a new case. They'd finished their last case the other day and Sam offered to look for something new. He thought the distraction might help him, keep him from thinking about Emerson and how scared she had sounded the last time he'd heard from her. He thought that if he found them something new to investigate that he could lose himself in that for awhile instead of wanting to talk Dean into driving into Mount Redding to find out what was going on first hand. And so far Sam was doing a horrible job at distracting himself, spending his time staring at the same website for the last 30 minutes without reading a single word.

"I don't know. I'm worried that something's wrong though, Dean," Sam said, taking a deep breath. He seemed to pinch the bridge of his nose, feeling like a headache was starting. Sam wasn't sure Dean really wanted to talk this out but if his older brother was going to listen, then Sam was going to take the time to talk it out at least a little bit anyway. "I'm worried that something happened to her and that's why she hasn't called me back. I mean, maybe she's just too busy to call back right now and I hope that's the case but I'm still worried."

Dean sighed a little, looking up at Sam and nodding. He looked at the other weapons he had out to clean and suddenly felt like doing anything but that and that wasn't like Dean. Cleaning the guns was his way to relax so the fact that the idea didn't appeal to him did bother Dean. He didn't like that being worried about his brother (and about Emerson) was affecting him that way. "She's probably busy. You know Emerson. She got wrapped up in something and hasn't gotten around to calling you," he said with a shrug, trying to sound like he believed what he was saying. He hoped he was right anyway.

Sam shook his head, slowly standing up. He reached for his cell phone, for the first time not hiding the fact that he was going to try calling Emerson. Now that Dean had brought it up, it made Sam feel like he had to call again to see what was going on. "I don't know, Dean. I have this funny feeling that something's not right," Sam said as he slipped his phone into the pocket of his jeans and reached for his jacket. He tossed it on and seemed to pat his pockets down to check to make sure he had everything.

"Where are you going?"

Sam shrugged. "I need some air," he said as he headed for the door. His right hand was in the front pocket of his jeans, already reaching for his phone. He felt like he'd be pulling it out and calling Emerson as soon as he closed the door behind himself.

"Let me know if you talk to her, okay?"

Sam cracked a smile when Dean said that and nodded before turning the doorknob and heading outside. He pulled out his phone as he closed the door behind himself. Taking a deep breath, he went through his phone book and to find Emerson's number and then dialed. He started to walk through the parking lot as the phone rang. Sam hoped that this time she'd answer the phone.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Well we're just a few chapters away from the end of this I think. Which means I really should get to writing the next story in the series! Thanks so much for continuing to read my stories. It means a great deal to me! I hope you enjoy this next chapter and everything that is yet to come for this story and this whole series!

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Emerson nearly jumped when she heard her phone ring. She'd been lying on her couch in her living room, trying to block out the rest of the world for a bit. For a little while she'd had soft music playing, hoping to find some kind of distraction from everything that was going on right now. There was too much going on for her to process and she was starting to feel numb from it all. Emerson had never felt numb before (at least not like this) so the sensation was new and scary and she didn't like it. It had her doing everything she could to shake that feeling. She just wanted to feel okay again. The music hadn't helped so Emerson had quickly shut it off, deciding that sitting in silence would be better especially if she wanted to empty her head.

Of course the ringing phone made her snap back to attention. It could have been anyone so Emerson shook off the mental cobwebs and grabbed her phone. She couldn't afford to miss a phone call right now because it could have been her mother or some kind of an emergency. "Hello?" she said, her voice a little soft but her tone steady.

"Emerson? What's wrong?"

She took a deep breath when she heard Sam's voice on the other end of the line. There was this rush of emotion that seemed to hit her in that moment and she felt her hands softly shaking. She softly bit her lip for a moment, feeling it start to tremble just from the sound of Sam's voice. Emerson had to blink back the tears that she felt starting to form already and took a deep breath before trying to speak. "Oh my god, Sam."

"What happened?" Sam asked, concern lacing his voice.

Emerson could close her eyes and see that look of concern on Sam's face. She could hear the worry and fear in his voice. She was softly trembling and she wasn't sure why. There was just so much going on and it all felt so wrong and hearing Sam's voice seemed to bring all that rushing back. It reminded her of everything that still needed to be fixed and somehow seemed to scare the hell out of Emerson at the same time.

"We … we found a secret entrance in the old church in town," she said, taking a deep breath before continuing. She knew that she had to sound terrified right now and for as much as she didn't want to worry Sam, Emerson couldn't seem to help it. Part of her, after all, did seem to feel completely terrified. "We went down there. The room … there were these symbols all over the walls. I didn't even recognize half of them. My mother didn't either. Someone had been down there recently. There were candles burned down to almost nothing. It looked like someone had drawn a pentagram on the floor."

Her voice was trembling as she spoke. Emerson was sitting up with one elbow resting on her knee and her forehead resting against her hand. She sniffled once, the tears starting to flow before she even realized that she was crying. She was exhausted and afraid because she thought she knew what was happening and if she was right, then she knew that someone was going to wind up hurt or worse. Emerson paused for a long moment, just softly breathing to keep herself calm.

She could hear Sam just softly breathing on the other end of the line, seemingly giving her whatever time she needed to compose herself. He didn't seem to try to rush her or get her to talk until she was ready. That helped her feel more centered and calm even with the chaos going on in her head.

"I think I know what's happening, Sam," Emerson softly said. She wondered a little if he could hear the way that her voice trembled or if he could hear that she was crying right now. She wasn't even sure that he'd hear her over the phone though with how soft she was speaking. "I think I know but I don't know if I can stop it."

"Emerson, what's happening?" Sam asked, trying to press her for more information without actually pressing too hard. He might be willing to give her the time she needed to talk but that didn't mean that he didn't want to know what was going on. There was an urgency in his voice along with that concern, that fear that was present earlier.

"I …" She glanced at the clock on the wall in her living room. There was so much that she wanted to tell him, so much that she knew that she needed to tell Sam but there wasn't enough time right now. Emerson sighed heavily when she realized that and shook her head. "Shit. I have to go. I promised my mother that I'd meet her. I'll call you soon. I promise, Sam."

Sam sighed heavily on the other end of the line. "I haven't heard from you in awhile and I thought you might want someone to talk to or something," he said, speaking a little softly.

There was something in his voice. Sadness or disappointment, Emerson wasn't sure. It broke her heart to hear it though. She could feel the tears starting to flow again, a little harder now actually. She didn't want to hurt Sam. "Just hearing your voice for a bit was nice, Sam. I'm sorry to cut this short. I really am," she said, a little smile playing at the corners of her mouth now. She wasn't sure if Sam would be able to 'hear' her smile but Emerson thought that perhaps there was something different in the tone of her voice in that moment. "I promise that I'll call you. I promise. I just really have to go."

"I'm going to hold you to that promise."

Emerson smiled a little more, hearing a chuckle in Sam's voice. It was good to hear his voice right now and that heaviness in her heart seemed to be gone. She knew in that moment that maybe she hadn't hurt Sam quite as much as she thought she had and she was glad for that. His voice was a bit of brightness in an otherwise gloomy day and it seemed to be the 'pick me up' that she needed. Emerson was already standing as she spoke next, heading for the door. "I … I will. I miss you, Sam."

Sam seemed to take a soft, deep breath on the other end of the line. It seemed to take him a moment to speak again. "I miss you too, Emerson," he finally said. His voice was soft and seemed to be filled with emotion. "Bye."

"Yeah, bye." Emerson hung up the phone and grabbed her jacket as she headed for the door. Her shoes were at the door and she stepped into them, slipping her cell phone into the back pocket of her jeans before shrugging on her jacket. She was steeling herself for what was going to come next. It wasn't going to be easy and Emerson was fairly certain that she or someone else was going to wind up hurt. She wasn't sure who or how. As she turned the doorknob, she took a deep breath. She felt like she could really use Sam and Dean right now.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: I just realized that it's been ages since I've even updated this story. I can't believe how long it's been but I'm working on my stories again and I should get to updating again with a little more regularity. I hope. My muse has finally decided to come for a visit so I'm hoping that she'll stay this time and let me finish more of these stories. They've been so much fun to write and I hope they've been fun to read. Thank you all for sticking with me. Or for finding me for the first time! I appreciate all the support I've gotten from people around here!**

_Hey, this is Sam. Leave a message and I'll get back to you._

She smiled when she heard Sam's voice. It made Emerson feel calm and centered and right now she needed that feeling. Even still she wasn't sure she even knew what to say. Like a little schoolgirl, she quickly hung up the phone only to redial. Emerson wanted to hear his voice again but mostly she needed a moment to prepare herself so she could actually leave Sam a message this time. This time she took a deep breath as the outgoing message on his voice mail played, trying to make sure that she felt steady enough to leave him a message. Emerson smiled as she heard that outgoing message again but this time she cleared her throat before the beep, preparing herself to say something.

"Hey, Sam. It's just me. I didn't want you to worry about me. I promised to call after all so this is me giving you a call," Emerson said with a soft laugh. Her voice was soft and sweet. As she spoke, she found herself imagining that Sam was there with her. Her eyes were closed and in her mind she softly touched his cheek, let her thumb brush across Sam's lips. It was a distracting image and she shook it off after a moment although she loved the image when it had come into her head.

"My mother and I are going to take care of this thing today. We're pretty sure we know what it is and how to take care of it so we're going to finish this," Emerson continued with a soft smile, slowly opening her eyes. Somehow in saying all this out loud, she felt a little more confident. "I'll call you when it's over. I want to see you again, Sam. When it's over, I definitely want to see you again." She knew she was rambling but she was starting to feel anxious and excited and she needed to tell Sam that she wanted to, _needed to_, see him again once this was all over.

She sighed softly and glanced down the street, seeing a car headed up the block. She was standing on the sidewalk in front of her house, waiting for her ride. Emerson knew that car pulling up was her mother coming to pick her up. She hiked the bag she had up on her shoulder before turning her attention back to the phone. Emerson had more to say before she hung up, before the message got too long and she got cut off so she was trying to get it all out before that happened. She wasn't sure she'd be able to call Sam back. She would probably just wind up hanging up before leaving a message if she tried calling again actually.

"So don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine. I'll talk to you soon, Sam." Emerson waited a heartbeat, stopping herself from saying at least a few things that she really wanted to say right now. Things that were better left unsaid for the moment. They felt like things that would be better said face to face. "Take care and I'll see you soon. And I'll call. I promise, Sam."

Emerson hung up just as Grace pulled up, slipping her phone into her back pocket before her mother could see it and ask questions. She tossed her bag into the opened window once her mother had pulled over. It landed on the back seat but Emerson didn't saying a word. She flashed her mother a little smile as she opened the passenger side door, climbing in. She felt upbeat and ready to take this thing on. "Are you ready?" Emerson asked, looking at her mother out of the corner of her eye.

Grace nodded, looking straight ahead. There was a clear look of determination on her face right now, pure focus. "Yes, are you?"

Emerson sighed, the sound hidden by the sound of the car door closing. She wished she felt as confident as her mother. That seemed like one of so many things that she and her mother didn't have in common. Her mother had a strength and determination that she wished she had too. As 'ready' as she felt, it didn't mean that Emerson felt like they could really handle this, not just the two of them, but she was sure that this was it. This was going to be the 'final showdown' so to speak and she felt ready for that at least. Emerson felt as prepared as she'd probably ever be and mostly she just wanted to finish it. It felt like it was time that this got taken care of once and for all.

Emerson finally nodded, although there was a look of worry in her eyes for a moment. She didn't know why she felt worried but a part of her certainly felt it. It was like something was eating at her a bit, some bit of information that she hadn't figured in to all of this. It seemed important or at least it was enough to scare her a bit. Emerson chose to look straight ahead so her mother wouldn't see it though. She pushed all that back and squared her shoulders, straightening her back and putting on her 'brave face'. "Yeah. I'm ready."


End file.
